1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system and method for efficient use of bandwidth and resources in a peer-to-peer network environment. More specifically, a system and method for distributed function discovery with third party responses in a peer-to-peer network to facilitate efficient use of bandwidth and resources are disclosed.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, to obtain anti-virus product updates and/or signature files, computers rely on a pull approach in which each client or server computer must retrieve the updated anti-virus file directly from a source via the Internet. For a computer network, a network administrator may allow anti-virus signature files to become out of date because there are simply too many clients on the network for effective management. Alternatively, the network administrator may schedule the clients to automatically pull the updated anti-virus file from the Internet when each client logs onto the computer. However, such an approach can result in a bandwidth crunch such as in the early morning work hours when most users log onto their computers.
Connections to the Internet from within an organization, particularly from a small to medium sized organization, may be relatively slow. For example, a small to medium sized business may share a single cable or DSL modem, a 56K modem, or an ISDN line. In contrast, in a typical work group interconnected via a LAN, connections on the LAN are generally much faster, the typical LAN being 100/TX (100 Mbps). Peer-to-peer networks thus partially address the need for efficient use of bandwidth and resources in a computer network.
However, because there is no single dedicated server in a peer-to-peer network, it may be desirable, at least for certain tasks, to designate a single point of responsibility by determining which computer or node on the network is most suitable to perform the desired service or task as a service provider. That computer thus preferably becomes the computer to which all other peers on the peer-to-peer network will go to first for the specified service.
Thus, it is desirable to provide a system and method for selection of a service provider from among peers in a peer-to-peer network in a secure, efficient, and effective manner.